At the time of reaching its 60th anniversary, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) seems younger than ever! This summer UIL is a learning and working venue to as many as six young professionals, which is an unprecedented number of concurrent interns at the Institute. In order to support UNESCO Member States in capacity-building efforts, UIL offers internships to Master’s students and recent graduates with various backgrounds, such as education, social sciences or humanities, with a focus on international development and cooperation. They have the opportunity to enrich their experience, share knowledge and assist UIL in its commitment to realising the concept of lifelong learning in policy, research or practice levels. Some of our interns are students of the Erasmus Mundus European Masters Programme in Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management, who are thus, as future lifelong learning professionals, empowered to apply the knowledge and competencies acquired during their studies.

All interns are working closely with experienced supervisors on the topics related to their fields of study as well as to their interests but also to the needs of the Institute. They are engaged in UIL activities in support of literacy initiatives, lifelong learning policies and information provision in the field of adult learning and education.

The six interns are Mariana Simoes from Brazil, Angelina Robitschko from Germany, Emmanuel Yaafi from Ghana, Marina Tota from Italy, Jackline Kayatta from Kenya and Marija Mitic from Serbia. During their stay they are increasing their understanding of cultural diversity and combining different educational traditions they belong to into a learning forum where they can ask questions and exchange ideas. This is of manifold benefit to them, to the Member States and to the Institute itself.